# Evolution Gave Humans Too Few Ways to Express Ourselves by Jaron Lanier > “It's not only the narcissism of the young (and not so young) human mind or the primality of the control of one's own body that makes self-transformation compelling. Evolution, as generous as she ended up being with us humans, was stingy with potential means of expression. Compare us with the mimic octopus which can morph into all sorts of creatures and objects, and can animate its skin. An advanced civilization of cephalopods might develop words as we know them, but probably only as an adjunct to a natural form of post-symbolic communication.” > **— Jaron Lanier**, *2005 Edge Annual Question, response passage* ## Sources and Context - **Original Edge response:** [Computer Scientist and Musician — Jaron Lanier](https://www.edge.org/response-detail/11266) — a verbatim passage from Jaron Lanier's 2005 Annual Question response, expressing the author's position at the time. The linked response supplies its surrounding context. - **Local archival entry:** [[research/Edge 2005 Full Quotation Curation|Edge 2005 Full Quotation Curation]] (EDGE2005-053). ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Edge|Edge]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Consciousness Continuity|Consciousness Continuity]] - **Article:** [[articles/Escape Hatch in the Skull|Escape Hatch in the Skull]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Evolutionary Roots of Silicon Valley|The Evolutionary Roots of Silicon Valley]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Organic-Synthetic Brain Atlas|The Organic-Synthetic Brain Atlas]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/Cognitive Enhancement|Cognitive Enhancement]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “It's not only the narcissism of the young (and not so young) human mind or the primality of the control of one's own body that makes self-transformation compelling. Evolution, as generous as she ended up being with us humans, was stingy with potential means of expression. Compare us with the mimic octopus which can morph into all sorts of creatures and objects, and can animate its skin. An advanced civilization of cephalopods might develop words as we know them, but probably only as an adjunct to a natural form of post-symbolic communication.” — Jaron Lanier, 2005 Edge Annual Question https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-jaron-lanier-evolution-gave-humans-too-few ```